Wednesday, May 20, 2009

two songs in one book launch

For the first time, both the people siting on the dais with me had actually read the book, A Grasshopper's Pilgrimage.

Tom Alter was in an ecstatic mood right from the moment we met at the Airport. He gave me three good reasons for being happy:
1. The Congress was winning left, right and center.
2. An 'art' film that Tom has acted in, called 'Ocean of an old Man,' is getting released on 22nd May. Tom had no hope left that this film would ever see the dark of a theater because it is too beautiful.
3. He had been (re) reading my book on the plane.

And so, he very generously gave the credit for all three to the Mountain. (Not this blog, but the actual Mountain, Arunachala.)

Tom Alter’s introduction to the book:

This is not a book, it is a pilgrimage. Not only physical pilgrimage, because it covers many parts of India, but in mind and spirit, it covers time and generations, the past, present. It deals with love, a little bit of lust: all the beautiful things are part of this pilgrimage that she takes us along. I guarantee you one thing, that you cannot put it down, and not because of the excitement and the adventure, but something much deeper and unfathomable.

What I particularly like about this book, is that Manjushree is dealing with very important topics, but she does not preach about them. This grasshopper strokes life and death with the same brush and takes you into the next hop. As you read you become so absorbed, you begin to go on your own pilgrimage, and this is what great art is.

After there readings Tom and David, the American poet, sang out the Beatles song, 'Will you still need me , will you still feed me, when I am sixtyfour....